back to school altered notebooks

Its the time of year when the kiddos head back to school and my favorite time of year because there are all kinds of fun back to school supplies in stores! Back when I was in school I couldn't bear to have a boring notebook or folder and (big surprise) I would always alter the outside of my school supplies. After grabbing some cheap composition notebooks for my office, I decided to transform them into something messy and colorful!

I started by painting over the outside of the notebook with white house primer but you could use gesso, house paint or acrylic paint. The goal is to cover everything up!

While my paint was still wet I added a few swipes of color to my first layer of paint and then let everything dry.

This time of year the school supply section is loaded with all kinds of things that can be used in painting and mixed media projects- it just takes a little thinking outside the box! I picked up a package of erasers that were great for stamping! 

I added a layer of stamped circles, more messy swipes of color and some drips.

Once again I let everything dry.

I continued to add layers of color, messy swipes and a little spray paint.

TIP- letting layers dry keeps color vibrant instead of muddy. And if you don't have the patience to wait for things to dry, hit it with a hair dryer until the surface is tacky before adding another layer.

The result are wild and messy notebook covers that would be great at this point but I like to add another layer of fine details and doodles. 

There you have it! TOTALLY unique notebooks perfect for students (or anyone) who likes a little creative expression in their supplies!